Reform is not rescue charity for panicky Tory MPs, Farage says

Farage has said his party will not accept any more defectors after local elections are held on 7 May.

"Any Conservative MP who still clings to the hope that their party can recover and waits until May 8 to try to leave the sinking ship does not understand how rapidly things are changing out in the country," he wrote in the Telegraph.

"Trying to use Reform as a lifeboat to save their own political skins will not wash. We have no interest in rescuing political failures."

He said any defectors would have to bring some benefits to the party and "truly believe in Reform's fundamental values of family, community and country".

Senior Conservatives believe some other MPs could also defect, though they are not expecting a big wave of departures imminently.

Jenrick joined Reform on Thursday, hours after he was sacked from the Conservative shadow cabinet for plotting to defect.

As a former immigration, housing and health minister, Jenrick brings government experience to Reform.

However, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: "Bringing in Robert Jenrick, who presided over soaring NHS waiting lists and the collapse of the criminal justice system in this country, to solve the problems this country faces is like calling out the arsonists to put out the fire."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has claimed her party was stronger and more united since Jenrick left, saying he was not "a team player".

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